While the permission has been granted from the Rajya Sabha till December 31, 2022, the Lok Sabha has granted the time till January 9, 2023.
Tobacco products will henceforth carry larger pictorial warnings covering 85 per cent of the packaging space as a central notification comes into effect from Friday notwithstanding a parliamentary panel's recommendation for a drastic reduction in the size of the visual message.
According to a Union home ministry notification, those Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians residing in the districts of Anand and Mehsana in Gujarat will be allowed registration as a citizen of India under Section 5 or will be granted certificate of naturalisation under section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and in accordance with the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009.
'I was thinking of December 13, 2001, the day Parliament was attacked. I was in Parliament that day. But this was much more terrible. Obviously, you feel scared. In the attack on Parliament a handful of people were involved and were killed, but here we were witnessing a huge struggle to capture them. It was horrifying.' Bhupendrasinh Solanki, the Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament from Godhra, Gujarat, was at Mumbai's Taj hotel when the terrorists attacked it.
World over the condition of the poor continues to worsen. The new year will be no different. In India, scam and scandal ridden regime of the Congress-led UPA coalition has been exemplary in its cruelty towards the poor and the common man, writes Gopal Krishna.
Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and some other MPs suspended from Parliament will not be able to attend the meetings of parliamentary committees of which they are a member or chairperson till their suspension is revoked.
Delayed by more than four years, rules for the CAA are a must for its implementation.
The plea was made before the Department Related Standing Committee for Subordinate Legislation as according to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, the rules for any legislation should be framed within six months of the presidential assent or an extension must be sought.
Two bills that lay down the mechanism to hold simultaneous elections were introduced in the Lok Sabha after a fiery debate on Tuesday, with the opposition terming the move 'dictatorial' and Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal asserting that the legislation would not tamper with the powers enjoyed by states.
The rules for the CAA are likely to be issued before the MCC comes into effect, sources privy to the development said.
The rules under the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was enacted over a year ago, are under preparation, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.
The CAA, enacted by the BJP-led government at the Centre in 2019, aims at granting Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.
With the CAA rules being issued, the Modi government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from the three countries.
A controversy broke out over remarks by 'beedi' baron and parliamentary committee member from the Bharatiya Janata Party Shyam Charan Gupta suggesting "nil" effect of smoking, evoking sharp reaction from opposition parties which sought his removal from the panel
Speaker urges unambiguity in rule-making
The one-year-old Himachal Pradesh Cabinet headed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu was expanded on Tuesday with the induction of Rajesh Dharmani and Yadvinder Goma as cabinet ministers.
Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday dismissed Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Dilip Gandhi's remarks that all studies linking cancer to tobacco have come from abroad and that there is no Indian survey report to confirm it.
The objective of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, enacted in 2019, is to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim persecuted minorities -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Amidst a raging controversy over remarks on smoking by a Bharatiya Janata Party MP who is a 'beedi' baron, another Member of Parliament from the party Ram Prasad Sarmah on Friday waded into the row, claiming there is no clear proof yet linking cigarette puffing and cancer while wondering whether tobacco contains "herbal medicine"
A parliamentary panel termed the government's proposed 85 per cent pictorial warnings on tobacco products as "too harsh" and recommended a drastic reduction in size.
Rediff.com gives you a look at newbies in the Council of Ministers
The Opposition on Thursday protested the government's move to extend the tenures of the directors of Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate up to a maximum of five years from the present two years, alleging it was 'arbitrary' and without any logic.
'Have you seen foreign cigarette packets? They only have words warning us about the use of tobacco. While ours have pictures already covering 40 per cent area. I am just saying wait for our study before increasing it.' 'I repeat that I am aware that gutka and tobacco are harmful. Awareness is what we need. We are creating awareness. We are doing it on radio and television.' BJP MP Dilip Gandhi, who says there is no study in India that links tobacco use with cancer and has stayed the increase in size of pictorial warnings on cigarette packets, speaks to A Ganesh Nadar/Rediff.com
In democratic India, a citizen can be a patriot and at the same time be critical of the government, unlike China which promulgated a national security law in Hong Kong prescribing patriotism to contest elections, observes Rup Narayan Das.
'Biometric Aadhaar-based surveillance is not only about violation of privacy, but also about the treasure hunt for unprecedented financial surveillance and economic intelligence in the economic history of mankind,' asks Gopal Krishna.
'The most valuable personal sensitive information of present and future citizens has been made available to foreign data firms and governments and non-State actors for all time to come,' says Gopal Krishna.
The proposed changes to the child labour law to allow children and adolescents to work for their families would be most retrograde and regressive, say Shinzani Jain and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.
Aadhaar-related schemes and the Aadhaar Act exist on the assumption that Right to Privacy is not a Fundamental Right.